


Miles Away

by bambithepenguin



Category: Hurts (Band)
Genre: M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Separations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2018-03-28 20:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3869212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambithepenguin/pseuds/bambithepenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a short phone talk between two lovers on the opposite sides of the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miles Away

Adam lies in his bed and stares at the ceiling. The bed seems so painfully wide and the silence that fills this room, veiled with infinite darkness, becomes unbearable, growing heavy on Adam’s heart. Their apartment, once so full of noise because of Theo’s never-ending talks and laughter, now breathes with cold and loneliness. Nothing feels the same since Theo went on a business trip to Australia. He kept reassuring Adam it was going to take only several days but both had no idea how hard to live through they would be. That’s why Adam doesn’t really like Theo’s collaborations: it has always been unbearable to let him go to somebody else, even for a while, to share him, to admit that Theo’s world doesn’t revolve around Adam only, no matter how solid their relationship is.  
A phone call pierces the grievous silence – that is the only sound that can awake Adam from his sore languor. Grabbing the phone rapidly, he looks at the screen and lets out a slight smile.  
“Hi, love! How’ve you been?” Theo exclaims in an overly enthusiastic tone, wandering through the hotel hall and trying hard not to bump into every single piece of furniture in his way. Completing the conventional obstacle course would be much easier with Adam by his side, grasping his intoxicated body firmly and ready to prevent a fall.  
“Are you drunk?” an immediate guess, based on previous experience, is uttered.   
“Just a little bit,” Theo stumbles and smashes bluntly into his room door. The abrupt noise makes Adam ask nervously:  
“What are you doing? Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, totally,” Theo murmurs while struggling with the lock, “I’m going to bed. Trying to, at least.”  
“Isn’t it like…” Adam looks at the phone screen and counts quickly, “10 am there?”  
“I guess it is, I’ve been partying all night long and lost count of time somewhere around midnight,” Theo confesses and falls on his bed, exhausted.   
“Could I expect anything else,” thinks Adam, “I barely leave the house and can’t even make myself do anything while Theo parties all night long. It has always been this way. I should’ve got used to it. Why the fuck am I so attached and dependent while he behaves like our relationship doesn’t mean a thing?”  
“What a coincidence,” he notices aloud, “It’s midnight here and I’m gradually losing count of time too because I’ve been trying to fall asleep for 2 hours but sleep won’t come.”  
Having heard overt bitterness in his voice, Theo gets worried.  
“What’s the matter?”  
Adam sighs, wondering if Theo really doesn’t understand the reason at all or just acts like a fool.  
“I miss you. I miss seeing you every minute of my life, I miss the way you embraced me while I was watching a sunset on the balcony, I miss your warm breath on my neck before falling asleep… Everything is pointless without you.”  
“I miss your neck too,” Theo mumbles indistinctly, failing to find a proper answer to those words of affection in the state he is.  
“What, only neck?” Adam laughs.  
“Well, I miss your other body parts too… Shit, it came out wrong!”  
The laughing continues and echoes softly off the dark walls which haven’t encountered human laughter for some time. Actually Adam missed even such comical things about Theo like his awkward drunk lines.  
“Glad to hear it. Don’t worry, little drunkard, it’s okay. Nice to be missed, even in such a weird way.”  
“You know you are. I miss you so much, Adam.”  
The annoyance, which seemed to vanish, arises again, causing a discontented question:  
“Then why are you partying so hard?”  
“Oh Adam… Can’t you see? I wouldn’t party at all if you were here. I don’t party as much as I used to since we’re together, you know it’s true. Partying is just a kind of escape, it’s like a pill, yet with the difference that not the pill itself is bitter but the feeling you have to take it to replace something real and sweet, though rather poorly. This used to be alright, but now it doesn’t work so good. When I’m with you, I don’t need those dumb substitutes. All this is… artificial. But you are genuine.”   
Delivering such a long speech is a trial for Theo; not only is he drunk, but also drowsy, so both words and thoughts don’t come easy, though he tries really diligently, impressing Adam with the persistence to soothe him. The latter closes his eyes and listens to Theo’s steady breathing, imagining he’s alongside.  
“Are you still here? Have you fallen asleep? I’m almost there…” Theo yawns after some time has passed, trying hard not to close his eyes and let the drunk sleep embrace him.  
“Nope, unfortunately, still awake.”  
“Turn the video on, I want to see you before I catch off.”  
Smiling jubilantly, Adam turns the light on and, after a few operations, he receives a view of Theo lying on his back and obviously holding the phone up above, his hands slightly shivering and muzzy eyes half open.  
“Is that absinthe on your collar?” Adam giggles at this sudden notice.  
“Oh, so there was absinthe too… Probably. Wait, are you wearing my T-shirt?”  
An embarrassed blush overtakes Adam’s cheeks; he doesn’t feel comfortable being caught with those sweet little things though Theo doesn’t show any signs of disapproval – on the contrary, judging by his radiant smile, Theo is quite content, and Adam’s confusion gladdens him even more.  
“Yeah… I needed something to remind me of you… Do you mind?” he finally mutters.  
“Not at all. Actually, your choice is wiser than mine but that seemed funny to me so…”  
“What do you mean?” an instant nervous question follows as the video trembles and fades into black, “Theo? Where the fuck are you?”  
“That’s nothing, I’ve just dropped the phone on my face,” goes the well expected answer and Theo appears on the screen again, now lying on his side, with the phone rested against a pillow, and poking some black wad into the camera. Incomprehension makes way for resentment:  
“Are those my braces? Really, Theo? Did you take my braces away with you? Why couldn’t you pick something else? Don’t you know I can’t go out without them, you infantile bastard!”  
“Somehow you could the day you were seeing me off at the airport,” Theo notices reasonably, with a smile.  
“That’s because I couldn’t find them that day!”  
“It’s no wonder, I packed them the day before while you were showering. Moreover, as you don’t seem to leave the house, they’ll be much more beneficial here with me.”  
“Wanker,” the offended side utters with a laugh, in fact not raging a trifle. Theo smiles back drowsily as his eyelids give up the fight against the overly adjourned sleep and close slowly. The affectionate gaze doesn’t move away from the screen for a couple of minutes, Theo’s innocent sleeping look causing the most tender feeling in Adam’s heart.  
“See you in my dreams,” Adam whispers and falls asleep easily.


End file.
